Bachelor of Nursing

The Bachelor of Nursing is offered full-time or part-time on-campus.

It is a program requirement that all Bachelor of Nursing students only enrol in courses offered at their designated home campus. Each trimester course enrolment lists are reviewed by the School and students who are enrolled in course offerings not from their program campus enrolment will be directed to withdraw from courses to meet this program enrolment requirement.

As a full-time student, you will generally attend 15-20 hours of scheduled classes per week throughout the trimester. Classes may be scheduled during the day and evening throughout the week.

Compulsory clinical courses begin in Year 1/Trimester 2. A clinical calendar is also available on the School of Nursing and Midwifery website. It is expected that if you enrol in these courses you will be available to attend. Part-time students must be available full-time for all professional placements.

The study of clinical nursing requires that students spend considerable time undertaking hands-on experience in on-campus clinical laboratories and within hospitals and other off-campus clinical settings. To ensure students are provided with the opportunity to gain sufficient clinical experience, all NRS-coded courses that include off campus clinical practicum from Year 1/Trimester 2 of this program will extend beyond the standard 13-week teaching trimester. This may include undertaking clinical placement during the mid-trimester and between-trimester vacation periods (i.e. the break during trimesters and between Trimester 1 and Trimester 2).

Consequently, although there will be no reduction in actual vacation length, the dates of the mid-trimester and between-trimester vacation periods may vary for some students from the dates advertised in the standard academic calendar. Students are advised that the timetables for these courses will not exceed 18 teaching weeks per trimester (i.e. the academic year will not exceed 36 teaching weeks in duration). Exact dates over which these extended courses will run will be published on a trimester-by-trimester basis within the University timetable.

Students may take a reduced study load.

If you wish to study part-time throughout the program, a program structure showing a sequence of courses is provided so you can undertake 8-12 hours of scheduled classes per week. However, attendance at daytime classes may be required.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

Please refer to the Australian Government website for more details.

Managing Study Interruptions

Taking a leave of absence from this program is permitted, subject to conditions outlined in the Enrolment Procedure.

Commonwealth Prac Payment

The Australian Government will establish a new Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) for students undertaking mandatory placements in eligible degrees. Visit Commonwealth Prac Payment for more information.

Work-integrated learning activities (professional prac placements) integrate theoretical learning with its application in the workplace. They are designed to prepare you for success in your working life.

In this degree you will spend 880 hours over 22 weeks in the work/professional environment undertaking placements at various locations. Placements may be outside of the Brisbane metropolitan/Gold Coast area including northern New South Wales and (by negotiation) interstate or overseas. Interstate/overseas placements are only permitted in the final clinical course in Year 3.

As a registered nurse, you'll be equipped for complex care scenarios, making critical decisions, coordinating care, educating patients and their families, and supervising enrolled nurses.

You may find work in hospitals, practices and community health settings, both in urban, rural and remote settings. You'll also be prepared for work in schools, the travel industry, with drug and alcohol service providers, in sporting clubs or in research organisations.

The Bachelor of Nursing is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC).

Graduates of this degree will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (via the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (Ahpra) subject to meeting any additional requirements that may be stipulated by the board. As these requirements may change from time to time, students should contact Ahpra to confirm registration requirements.

There are placements associated with this program and before undertaking professional experience placements, all students in this program are required to have completed the following by the end of their first trimester of study:

• Vaccinations and Health Tests
• Licenses and Certificates
• Online Training
• Health Placement Requirements

Students should refer to the checklist of professional practice requirements for their Health discipline on the Health Placement Support Hub for full details of the requirements regarding professional placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Specialise and advance your nursing career with the Graduate Certificate in Critical Care Nursing (3290), Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Nursing (3343), Graduate Certificate in Professional Nursing (3345), Graduate Certificate in Acute Care Nursing (3289), Graduate Certificate in Emergency Nursing (3291), Master of Advanced Nursing Practice (5721) or Master of Nursing Science (5768).